Women’s Arts Association launches an exhibition of Women’s art works at Art Central Gallery to celebrate International Women’s Day 2016

15 March 2016

Art Central recently saw the launch of the Women’s Arts Association’s exhibition of artworks created by female artists form across Wales.

IWD at Art Central

Over sixty guests came together to celebrate ‘International Women’s Day’ held annually on 08 March and celebrated globally. This significant day has been recognised since 1911. The Suffragettes began what is a beacon for us to assess, what still has to be achieved to attain gender equality today. Since 1908, the colours purple, white and green have continued to symbolise the plight of the Suffragettes with purple symbolising justice and dignity in the fight for women’s equality.

The Women’s Arts Association began as the arts discussion group within the Women’s Committee of the South Glamorgan County Council in 1984, becoming a registered charity in 1997. Working in partnership, the group develops creative opportunities for women, celebrating diversity and equality in all art forms. This exhibition is one of a number of exhibitions held by the organisation.

The Women’s Arts Association actively encourages women from across Wales with an interest in art to exhibit alongside established artists. The opportunity creates a platform for women artists of all abilities, to show their work together. The resulting exhibition at Art Central and has drawn together over sixty pieces of work creating a rich variety of painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, film, textiles and more...

Welcoming the guests to Art Central gallery, Councillor Margaret Wilkinson Deputy Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan Council spoke of the significance of the event in the calendar for women and said: "Today, we are celebrating, the individual achievements and creative abilities of woman artists from across Wales. We are also remembering the extraordinary achievements overcome by women throughout history and the on-going struggle to achieve worldwide equality for women."

Ending her speech Cllr Wilkinson congratulated the organisation for continuing to providing an opportunity for women artists across the country to showcase their creative talents and giving them a visual voice to celebrate International Women’s Day and women’s artistic achievements in Wales!

Jane Hutt AM followed and reiterated the Deputy Mayor's sentiments about the struggle to further equality, diversity and support for women today. As an avid supporter of the Women’s’ Arts Association, Hutt spoke of the changes she had seen and how the organisation had developed. From the artworks, she had identified titles that sent particular messages, depicting the continued struggle for women such as ‘Mind the Gap’ and ‘A Woman’s Work is Never Done’. Ending on a high, as she had started, the AM referred to a particular painting of a young girl swinging on a tyre remarking that the work, "holds the sentiments of which we all aim to achieve to continue to fly high leaving our mark for others to follow."

The new Chair of Women’s Arts Association, Patricia Ziad was invited to end the formalities. Giving a hearty vote of thanks Ziad acknowledged and thanked the Vale of Glamorgan Council on behalf of Women’s Arts Association for hosting this year’s exhibition. She said "the exhibition is very impressive, it has been curated well and no end of people having commented on the beautiful space, and the versatility of the works on show." She went on to thank the Deputy Mayor Cllr Wilkinson and Jane Hutt AM for their contributions and also gave a special thanks to all those who had volunteered with the co-ordination and set up of the exhibition. Special recognition and thanks went to Jilly Hicks who had been pivotal in coordinating and liaising with the artists and gallery manager regarding the submissions for this exhibition.

The exhibition will continue until the 16 April 2016. The gallery is located in the heart of Barry and can be found at the Town Hall King Square, CF63 4RW. It is open Monday to Friday 10:00am to 4:00pm, and Saturday, 10am – 3:30pm. Access is through the main doors at Barry County Library.